In a dynamic debate regarding the origins of oil, best-selling author of "Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil," Craig Smith, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" yesterday: "We can get all the oil we need for dozens, if not hundreds of years to come."

Debating peak oil vs. deep oil perspectives, Smith went head-to-head with Matthew Simmons, author of "Twilight in the Desert" on the cable news outlet's program. Smith, CEO of Swiss America Trading Company, contends that oil is not a fossil fuel. Rather, he believes it is being producing deep within the earth and is brought to attainable depths by centrifugal forces of the earth's rotation. In contrast, Simmons argues that oil is a finite resource and that Saudi Arabian oil supplies are dwindling, putting the world in a possible economic and political crisis.

Smith argued: "We currently have 1.28 trillion barrels of proven reserves, which are the highest in our history. And if, in fact, we are depleting the giant oil wells, how come the reserves are continuing to increase? ? I just don't buy the theory that we're running out of oil."

While Simmons agreed that the planet is not running out of oil, he insisted the industry is facing a peak production crisis. "The risk of running out of oil is miniscule," he said, "but the risk that we're peaking is a very real threat."

Rebutting Simmons, Smith asked, "Why would the oil companies be committing 55 billion dollars to harvesting the gulf if, in fact, there's not enough oil there? I mean, it just wouldn't make sense mathematically.

"Just because the Saudi oilfields may be depleting, it doesn't mean the world's supply of oil is diminishing, and I think we're starting to prove that over and over again, whether it be in the Niger Delta or whether it be in the Trinidad Basin or the Taiwan Basin. I think that America needs to lead the charge in embracing the technology in getting out there and finding these proven reserves that are out there ? bringing them to market and bringing this price into a reasonable area where we can continue to see the synchronization of global growth that we have experienced for the last 20 years."

"Black Gold Stranglehold" advances the argument that technology and education are needed to increase production and exploration efforts.

"The problem is," according to Smith, "if you believe that we are getting oil from decaying dinosaurs and debris from the forests then obviously there's only a finite supply. We don't embrace that. We believe that the earth is creating oil as we speak and that with technological advances and the ability to put human resources together with natural resources, and the wonderful capital markets we have here in America, we can get all the oil we need for dozens, if not hundreds of years to come."

After the appearance on CNBC, Smith issued a challenge for subsequent debates with Simmons, CEO of Simmons & Company International.

Smith and co-author Jerome Corsi's interview last week on "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory," sent "Black Gold Stranglehold" racing up the charts to land at the No. 10 position on Amazon's non-fiction best-seller list. With enormous oil conglomerate profits making headlines, "Black Gold Stranglehold" has opened the dialogue regarding the United States and its need for independence from foreign oil producers.

hicksfan

11-08-2005, 08:36 AM

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1107051jesusjuice1.html

L.A. entrepreneurs seek to market wine with "Jesus Juice" label

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/1107051inside1.gif

NOVEMBER 7--In a full-bodied blend of blasphemy and ingenuity, a Los Angeles couple is seeking to market a wine called "Jesus Juice" that bears a label showing a Michael Jackson-like figure appearing to be crucified. "Jesus Juice" merlot, the label for which you'll find below, is the brainchild of actress Dawn Westlake and Bruce Rheins, a veteran CBS Evening News producer who headed the network's coverage of the Jackson child molestation case. Westlake and Rheins filed to trademark the "Jesus Juice" name in January 2004, two months after the entertainer was arrested and days after news outlets first reported that Jackson used the term "Jesus Juice" when referring to wine he allegedly gave minors. On October 1, Westlake and Rheins provided USPTO officials--who are still reviewing the trademark application--with a copy of the proposed "Jesus Juice" logo, which features a photo of a barely clad man with a sequined glove, shiny loafers, stringy hair, and a black fedora that obscures his face. While carrying the name "Rheins-Westlake Winery," it appears that the wannabe winemakers's merlot production has, so far, been rather limited. In fact, two Westlake web sites seek a partner (preferably "a vintner with a sense of humor, but a seriously good line of wines") or someone to purchase the "Jesus Juice" trademark rights.

CORVALLIS, Ore., Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Research at Oregon State University shows that beer contains a micronutrient that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes.

The compound, xanthohumol, was first isolated by Oregon State 10 years ago and an increasing number of laboratories across the world have begun studying the compound, said Fred Stevens, an assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at Oregon State's College of Pharmacy.

The substance comes from the hops plant used to give beer its aroma and flavor, ABC News reported.

Most beers made today are low on hops, however, and so don't contain much xanthohumol. But beers such as porter, stout and ales have much higher levels of the compound.

Mice studies show that the compound is metabolized quickly by the body, so it's hard to get a large amount in the body at one time, Stevens said.

"It clearly has some interesting chemo-preventive properties, and the only way people are getting any of it right now is through beer consumption," he said.

A gigantic ape standing 10 feet tall and weighing up to 1,200 pounds lived alongside humans for over a million years, according to a new study.

Fortunately for the early humans, the huge primate's diet consisted mainly of bamboo.

Scientists have known about Gigantopithecus blackii since the accidental discovery of some of its teeth on sale in a Hong Kong pharmacy about 80 years ago. While the idea of a giant ape piqued the interest of scientists ? and bigfoot hunters ? around the world, it was unclear how long ago this beast went extinct.

Precise dating

Now Jack Rink, a geochronologist at McMaster University in Ontario, has used a high-precision absolute-dating method to determine that this ape ? the largest primate ever ? roamed Southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago during the Pleistocene period. By this time, humans had existed for a million years.

"A missing piece of the puzzle has always focused on pin-pointing when Gigantopithecus existed," Rink said. "This is a primate that co-existed with humans at a time when humans were undergoing a major evolutionary change. Guangxhi province in southern China, where some of the Gigantopithecus fossils were found, is the same region where some believe the modern human race originated."

Since the original discovery, scientists have been able to piece together a description of Gigantopithecus using just a handful of teeth and a set of jawbones. It may not be much, but the unusually large size of these teeth indicates they belonged to one big ape.

"The size of these specimens ? the crown of the molar, for instance, measures about an inch across ? helped us understand the extraordinary size of the primate," Rink said.

What happened?

Humans may have helped destroy the ape.

Further studies of the teeth revealed that the ape was an herbivore, and bamboo was probably its favorite meal. Some scientists believe that an appetite focused on bamboo combined with increasing competition from more nimble humans eventually led to the extinction of Gigantopithecus.

While most scientists agree that Gigantopithecus died out long ago, some people ? Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti enthusiasts in particular ? believe that this ape is the source of tales of giant, hairy beasts roaming the woods. These claims are not considered credible by mainstream scientists. There have been cases in which creatures are first known first by their fossil remains and later found living, such as the coelacanth ? a type of fish thought to have died out millions of years ago until it was discovered swimming off the coast of Africa in 1938.

Researchers do not have a full skeleton for Gigantopithecus. But they can fill in the gaps and estimate its size and shape by comparing it to other primates ? those that came before it, coexisted with it, and also modern apes. Currently, scientists are debating over how Gigantopithecus got around ? was it bipedal or did it use its arms to help it walk, like modern chimpanzees and orangutans? The only way to answer this is to collect more bones.

clevestinks

11-09-2005, 08:32 AM

Interesting find,!

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 12:15 PM

About 6-8 million years ago, primarily in Africa, our world was literally a planet of the apes. Many species existed at one time.

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 12:45 PM

Doesn?t Remind Me Wartime
Friday, 07 October 2005

AUDIOSLAVE's current hit "Doesn?t Remind Me" ? Top 5 across all rock formats in the U.S. ? is an expression of hope and the longing for personal transcendence against the backdrop of the world's uncertainties. For the song's video (Real Media, Windows Media), AUDIOSLAVE teamed with director Chris Milk to create a compelling piece which subtly addresses the current U.S. political climate and shows how war can tear life apart in a split second with one devastating change. Set in Philadelphia ? the birthplace of the United States ? the video focuses on a family coping with the absence of a father who?s fighting in the war overseas and the young son?s pursuit of a boxing career.

AUDIOSLAVE lead singer Chris Cornell says, "The bigger picture is that the culture of violence at home breeds a culture of violence abroad, and there's a price to be paid for that. And that price is the loss of lives and families destroyed. And to sum that up in a three and a half-minute video is something that was pretty incredible."

Tom Morello, the band's guitarist, notes, "We were all against the war from the very beginning and now I think you're seeing more and more that Middle America is turning against the war for reasons that are described in this video. The real human cost ? the human tally of this awful war ? is shown in a very humanistic way. It personalizes this tragedy that's happening halfway around the world but with a pretty universal message."

The "Doesn't Remind Me" video ? taken from the multi-platinum, critically acclaimed band's #1 album "Out of Exile" ? was added immediately to MTV, VH1 and Fuse in the U.S. Cornell says the band decided not to appear in the video whatsoever, as that "would only take attention away from how amazing the story is."

AUDIOSLAVE ? known for Chris Cornell's stirring vocals, Tom Morello's innovative guitar and the razor-sharp rhythm section of bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk ? are currently on their first full-scale North American tour. On this trek, the critically acclaimed band are performing songs from both of AUDIOSLAVE's albums ? the current "Out of Exile" (Interscope/Epic) and the band's self-titled five-million-selling debut ? along with selections from the group?s previous groups (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SOUNDGARDEN and TEMPLE OF THE DOG).

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 12:47 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/launch/20051017/en_launch/24662476

The video for Audioslave's current single, "Doesn't Remind Me," follows the story of a Philadelphia family in which the father is fighting in Iraq while his son back home harbors dreams of becoming a boxer. Singer Chris Cornell said that actually getting the video made was a struggle for the band. "It's a video that the record company didn't want to make,? Cornell said, ?'cause they didn't want to spend money on a video that they didn't think people would play and that the band is not in, and it's ended up turning around to be the exact opposite. For a rock band, this video is getting played more than anybody."

Cornell added that the video reflects current anxieties about life during wartime. "It has overtones,? Cornell said, ?of a story that's happening right now in this country where we have to deal with the reality that young children are losing their fathers or their mothers or, you know, their brothers for something that I don't think anybody agrees with at this point is a very smart idea or ever was a smart idea."

"Doesn't Remind Me" is from Audioslave's second album, Out Of Exile, which arrived last May.

The band's current North American tour brings it to Tampa, Florida Monday (October 17).

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 12:50 PM

That video is disturbing to me. I watch it like a train wreck every time it comes on Vh1. I haven't been able to put my finger on what is so unsettling about it to me, but it is definitely one of the better videos I've seen put out in a few years.

Prosdo

11-09-2005, 01:00 PM

Merging all the threads

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 01:27 PM

Merging all the threads

Thanks. That's so conducive to conversation to lump everything together like pot luck stew.

BlitzburghRockCity

11-09-2005, 01:54 PM

yeah but its better to have 1 big thread w/ more replies to it...then 10 little ones w/ less replies :smile:

Suitanim

11-09-2005, 02:36 PM

This board is all about the football talk, Knicks fan...but there's room for the locker room to grow.

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 03:00 PM

yeah but its better to have 1 big thread w/ more replies to it...then 10 little ones w/ less replies :smile:

Trust me, my threads become lengthy once people engage in them. 10 minutes after I post a couple, they're put together and it kills any chance of momentum, IMO.

hicksfan

11-09-2005, 03:02 PM

This board is all about the football talk, Knicks fan...but there's room for the locker room to grow.

Whatever, Knicksfan.....

Suitanim

11-09-2005, 03:04 PM

I still think that was funny...apparently you needed to be there...at 10 AM crossing the bridge, hungover as shit, with slu there, too...